Friday Ku-Tip: The anniversary gift

Lazy K Ranch increased by three this past weekend. Brady and I are now the proud owners of two John mules and an orphan calf. Why, you ask? Because when you start running out of anniversary gift ideas, you turn to animals. No, not really. What really happened was that we had wanted some mules or horses that we could actually enjoy riding on our place, and my mom found these guys for us. So we spent last Saturday on the road to East Texas to bring them home.

How did Doodle come to be? Poor Doodle was born May 16, and my parents found her in the jaws of an angry donkey who thought that slinging her around was a fun way to spend his afternoons. They saved her (not so much the donkey) and nursed her back to health. And, since Mom knows that every year Brady and I try to have as many unique characters for our church's petting zoo, we agreed that Doodle should become our new pet.

Pictured above: My mule Smokey "McCoy" Kujawski who looks pretty handsome in orange.

Pictured above: Brady's mule Gibson "Scout" Kujawski. These two go together like peas and carrots.

Pictured above: Two things I've already learned about Smokey. He likes grass and his butt rubbed.

Pictured above: Doodle is the fastest bottle drinker ever. I think her record is less than 2 minutes. She does spill on herself though.

Ku-Tip: So I kinda lied. The mules are our 4th anniversary gift to each other. I even thought about how we could tie these guys to the traditional 4th anniversary gift of fruit or flowers. Are you ready for this? We had to drive through Tyler — the Rose Capital of Texas — to pick them up. Yep, I'm that creative. Don't hate. Just enjoy the mules.

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Aunt Ninna & Uncle BB

Aunt Ninna takes a ton of pictures. And, to think, this isn't even my kid. I can only imagine what I will put my children through once they are born. Poor kids. Poor camera. And, poor Uncle BB. He hates picture-taking.

But, these pictures represent just how cool Aunt Ninna and Uncle BB really are. I mean, where else do you have a petting zoo at your fingertips? And, where else are you allowed to play in the dirt and run around like a crazy person? Only at our house. Oh, yeah, and don't forget that Pryce's favorite "surprise" is for me to let him eat whipped cream straight out of the can. Oh yes, it's true! There's nothing cuter than an 18-month-old looking up at you with his mouth wide open ready for his whipped cream. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Well, maybe except for Uncle BB and Massey on either side of him waiting for their whipped cream too.

I told you Aunt Ninna and Uncle BB were cool. Pryce told me so. And these pictures prove it.

Pictured above: Cheesin' it for the camera in hopes of tricking me into sharing my ice or popsicle. It always works too. Dang it.

Pictured above: What does Pryce like about the Snook Rodeo? He likes the dirt, the popsicles and the animals — in that order. Who wouldn't?

Pictured above: A goat with her head stuck means easy access for a curious kid.

Pictured above: This is what Pryce does when I ask him to help me feed. He grabs a bucket and fills it with "food" for the mules. Too bad the mules don't think dirt is edible.

Pictured above: Uncle BB took this awesome picture after Pryce tackled me and then ran away. I think he's up to something if you ask me.

Pictured above: When Pryce sees a "Meow Meow" it's all over after that.

Pictured above: Do I look scary to you? Because little goober runs straight to Uncle BB the minute I tell him I'm gonna get him. Ungrateful little whipped cream eater.

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Real or Wii?

Brady and I play tennis a lot at the high school tennis courts in Franklin. No one is ever there, which means we can bring Massey to run around and be our ball dog. She's also not afraid to get hit by the ball — just ask Brady.

Every so often, some of the kids whose parents are running around the track get sidetracked from chasing each other up and down and bleachers and come to watch us play tennis. I don't know why, but they are always mesmerized by our skills.

Earlier this spring, these two young boys were watching us play, and were so excited about the game that they had enough gumption to ask us if they could use our rackets and hit the ball around for a while. Of course I said yes, since I love teachable moments, but they were too busy being boys and trying to peg each other with the ball to want to learn the "right" way to play tennis.

We finally got them on either side of the net and had them trying to nicely hit the ball to one another.

Me (trying to start a conversation): "Is this the first time you've ever played tennis?"

Boy #1 (actually working up a sweat): "Yes! And, it's so much fun."

Boy #2 (as serious as can be): "Well, does Wii tennis count? Cause we've both played Wii tennis."

Me (thinking, who is this kid?): "No, Wii tennis doesn't count."

Boy #1 (slamming the ball at his buddy): "Well, real tennis is way more fun than Wii tennis."

I just looked over at Brady, sighed and thought to myself, "Well of course real tennis is more fun than Wii tennis. Wii tennis isn't tennis! It's a video game!"

So today I make this promise. Never will my kids EVER compare real tennis to Wii tennis. Or ANY real sport to a Wii sport. EVER. Pinky swear.

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Friday Ku-Tip: Ode to my 20s

Today is my 29th birthday, and given that in 365 days, I will leave my 20-somethings behind for good and enter a new 30s decade, I thought it would be nice to reminisce on what my 20s meant to me. Bear with me guys—I am getting older and overworked my brain just to remember what I wrote below. I'm sure I still forgot something important.

20 (2001-2002): Experienced New York City with Hesby and the crew; Studied abroad for five weeks in Mexico with some of my closest classmates; Met the man of my dreams because of that same study abroad trip

21 (2002-2003): Traveled with several friends to Taos, NM, for the first of many annual ski trips; Quit my job in the animal science department and took a new job at TWRI

22 (2003-2004): Dunked my Aggie ring at the Chicken in 2:08; Graduated from Texas A&M magna cum laude with my bachelor's

23 (2004-2005): Became a graduate assistant in AGED and drove a van to Mexico!

24 (2005-2006): Got engaged to the man of my dreams; Spent a week in Puerto Rico and visited the "other" side of the island; Won that same man a free rifle in the Big Lake Big Game Dinner/Raffle; Took my first job at the College of Education & Human Development; Graduated from Texas A&M with my master's

25 (2006-2007): Married the man I met when I was 20; Spent a week in Zihuatanejo for our honeymoon; Experienced Crested Butte for the first time; Got the best Valentine's Day gift—in the form of a $30 dog we named Massey; Bought 28 acres and moved to Franklin, America

26 (2007-2008): Spent a week in Montana for our first anniversary; Our niece Phoenix was born; Completed my first half marathon in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 11 seconds; Received a promotion at work

27 (2008-2009): Brady left construction and started teaching at Chilton; Our nephew Pryce was born and stole all our thunder; Experienced Puerto Rico yet again but this time Brady got to tag along; Built our much-anticipated barn with the help of Mr. Construction himself—Daniel W. Kujawski

28 (2009-2010): Brady got a teaching job closer to home at Franklin High School; Spent a week together in Nashville where we took advantage of Boot Country's "Buy 1, Get 2 Free" special; Lost 30 pounds and Brady lost 40 pounds; Took a road trip out west to experience the Grand Canyon

29 (2010-2011): We'll be greeted very soon by two more babies—our niece Mia and Pryce's baby sister/brother; And we have 365 more days to make new memories and reach new milestones

Ku-Tip: "Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, for you shall only live it once. Be comfortable with growing older." Sappy I know, but then again, I have had two glasses of wine.

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Accessories. They’re Not Just For Girls Anymore

So, Brady hates it when we're running errands in town, and I get sidetracked by something sparkly or trendy and just have to stop to browse. Yes, I'm a girl and I like accessories — specifically belts, earrings and cardigans.

But ladies, we're not alone. Men love shiny and trendy accessories too — they just don't want to admit it. Except now I have visual proof that Brady loves accessories, as well as proof on our credit card and proof from the hours and hours I've spent following Brady around the 4 Wheel Drive store to browse for manly accessories…

Pictured above: Accessories #1 & #2 — Smittybilt front bumper with driving lights so that our future children will be protected when Daddy takes them to daycare (that's the excuse Brady gave for needing the bumper)

Pictured above: Accessories #3 & #4 — 31" all-terrain tires and front-bumper D rings that match his back-bumper D rings that we'll eventually use to pull our kids around on a sled

Pictured above: Accessory #5 — 8,000 lb. winch that Brady promises he'll use to stretch our fence wire

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